Chamber and committees

The next Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be paid from 18 December, with the vast majority of payments being made on that date.

The NHS Scotland and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme 2020 was introduced to ensure that no qualified person was discouraged or prevented from returning to service in NHS Scotland as a result of the pandemic, and ensure that all staff have peace of mind at this time. The scheme was subsequently extended to cover university students on health programmes who undertake clinical placements as part of their course – this includes nursing and medical students.

The Scottish Government has recently confirmed the life assurance scheme is being extended to also cover college students studying HNC Care and Administrative Practice and HNC Healthcare Practice, while undertaking placements in health and social care settings. This will ensure that clinical placements can progress as planned.

The decision on whether to impose whole-household isolation is taken by local Health Protection Teams if, in the handling of specific outbreaks, it is deemed proportionate in tackling the spread of the virus. This decision making process follows an individual risk assessment undertaken for each case at a local level by Test and Protect. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many times risk assessments have come to this conclusion.

The Chief Medical Officer issued guidance to people on the shielding list who live in areas that went to level 4 on 20 November on going to work, school and childcare.

The new framework sets out our strategic approach to suppress the virus. https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/ .

As the levels in a local area change, the protection advice for people on the shielding list in that area will change as well. People at highest risk should still follow the advice for the general public as a minimum, but these levels provide additional advice for areas like work, schools, shopping and contact with others.

Support is available for those at an increased risk. Guidance on support and information is available on the Scottish Government website. Detailed guidance is available on Coronavirus: Guidance on support, information, food and other essentials and includes

• Help with food and shopping
• Accessing essentials and support
• Gift card schemes
• Food boxes and prepared meals
• Food delivery services
• Other sources of support

The advice, even at level 4, is that people can continue to shop for themselves, and we have provided checklists to ensure people can do so safely, In addition, six supermarkets (ASDA, Iceland, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose) have agreed to extend priority access to everyone who was on the shielding list as of 20 November 2020. Details of how to register for this service were issued to everyone on the shielding list in tier 4 on Friday 20 November. A further communication on how to register for the service was issued to everyone on the shielding list (in the week commencing 24 November 2020). This service does not guarantee a delivery slot, which will be dependent on availability, but provides access to view booking slots further in advance.

We suggest people should ask family, friends or neighbours to get essential items like prescription medicines. They can also ask their pharmacy if they can deliver their medicines to your home.

If people are unable to do either of these things or are unable to access the essentials they need, and have no support available to do so, they should contact the national helpline on 0800 111 4000 .

£15 million has been made available to local authorities entering level 4 restrictions, to enable them to support the needs of people in their communities who don’t have support networks and are struggling with the new restrictions or guidance at protection level 4. This may be used to provide support with access to food or medicine or other emerging needs.

The Scottish Government does not hold information in this form.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board provides strategic leadership of a £50m investment in perinatal and infant mental health. Within this, services directly towards infants aged 0 to 3 years are being developed across Scotland. Over £800,000 has been invested in infant mental health this financial year.

NHS Boards draw funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from the overall health and social care funds allocated to them by the Scottish Government. Boards work with the Integration Joint Boards in their area and other partners to ensure funding decisions reflect local and national priorities for the delivery of person-centred, safe and effective mental health services.

Detail on mental health spending and the NHS budget is made available each year as part of the annual NHS Costs Book publication and the Scottish Budget, this includes CAMHS expenditure data by NHS Board. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26493, which details this expenditure from 2011 until 2019. The 2019-20 data is expected to be published on 19 January 2021. However, CAMHS expenditure data is not available broken down by age.

The Seasonal Flu Immunisation Programme helps to protect the most vulnerable and alleviate pressure on the NHS. This is more important than ever this year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those most at risk from the seasonal flu, who are already eligible to receive the vaccine are:

• Those aged 65 and over,
• Those who have an underlying health condition,
• Pregnant women,
• Health care workers,
• Young and unpaid carers,
• children aged 2-5 (not yet at school), and
• primary school pupils.

This year the Scottish Government expanded free eligibility for the seasonal flu vaccine to include:

• social care workers who provide direct personal care;
• household members of individuals who are shielding; and
• all those aged 60-64 (who are not already eligible) and with the intention to further expand to 59-55.

With the expansion some occupations, such as health and social care workers are entitled to the free seasonal flu vaccine, this is because they come into contact with a higher proportion of people who are vulnerable to the seasonal flu. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there is pressure on the global supply of seasonal flu vaccine and those at the greatest clinical risk must continue to be prioritised. Therefore school staff who are at higher risk from flu will already be eligible to receive their flu vaccination and will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment.

180,784 participants had their cervical screening test delayed due to the pause of the screening programmes in 2020 of which (a) 29,362 have attended for a test and (b) 99,716 have yet to receive their invitation for a screening appointment. These figures include women who receive more frequent screening appointments, who were first to receive their invitations to cervical screening following the restart.

We are actively engaging with cancer charities across Scotland, with many involved in discussions regarding shielding and the drafting of the upcoming National Cancer Recover Plan. Alongside this, various charities are a member of the Scottish Screening Committee and the National Cancer Trials Resilience Group.

The Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme (CTRSP) opened for applications on 21 September and will run until March 2021. Over three hundred applications have been received to date and these are currently being assessed by our partners. By the end of this week (6 Nov) a total of 22 Organisations will be in receipt of grants totalling over £410,000 with a further 25 Organisations currently receiving Business Advice through the Adapt and Thrive Programme.

The Adapt and Thrive Programme aims to support organisational change, it offers tailored, specialist advice, as well as grants between £5 and £25k. Loans of £25K+ are also available.

Third Sector Organisations need to adapt to the challenges presented by COVID, to ensure that they continue to have a positive impact in their communities. Working with an advisor, organisations will be supported to develop a plan to operate sustainably post-COVID. This may mean developing new income streams, restructuring the organisation, or changing how services are delivered.

The contribution from community and third sector organisations has been an essential part of how communities have responded to the pandemic, the connections and partnerships made will continue to play an important role in recovery. Communities Recovery Fund aims to support either the delivery of community services that were suspended or reduced because of COVID, or the creation of new services that tackle new challenges presented by COVID.

The fund will offer grants to enable organisations to reintroduce the delivery of services, adapt existing services or the develop new services to tackle new or exacerbated needs resulting from COVID.

The Scottish Government raised awareness of World COPD Day through our social media channels and key stakeholder networks.

COPD is a priority for the Scottish Government and we are committed to ensuring that those people living with long term lung conditions are able to access the best possible person-centred care treatment and support.

Our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland will set out the main priorities to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions including COPD.